PRINCE IS BACK GENERATING POWER

Jan DeKnockCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Chalk up a great chart week for Minneapolis` top pop star, Prince, who is finally back in form after struggling for several years to regain the hit power he enjoyed after his ''Purple Rain'' heyday in the mid-`80s.

On the singles list, Prince and his new band, the New Power Generation, took over the No. 1 spot with the slinky dance track ''Cream,'' which moved up from No. 3 to end the one-week reign of Karyn White`s ''Romantic'' (now No. 2).

And on the albums chart, Prince`s new ''Diamonds & Pearls'' jumped from No. 4 to No. 3 in its fourth chart week, showing greater staying power than two other hot new releases that entered the charts at the same time: Motley Crue`s ''Decade of Decadence'' (down from No. 3 to No. 6) and Public Enemy`s

''Apocalypse 91 ... the Enemy Strikes Black'' (down from No. 4 to No. 8 in the last two weeks).

The two top albums remained unchanged, with Garth Brooks` ''Ropin` the Wind'' scoring a fifth week as champ and Guns N` Roses hanging on to No. 2 with ''Use Your Illusion II.'' G N` R also made a resurgence this week with the other half of their double release, ''Use Your Illusion I,'' which rebounded from No. 8 to No. 5.

How long will Prince`s new hot streak last? Probably not for long on the singles chart, where there already is a powerhouse challenger poised to take over: Michael Bolton`s soulful ''When a Man Loves a Woman,'' which made another huge leap-from No. 15 to No. 5 in just its fifth chart week-and appears unstoppable for No. 1. (It`s already in its second week as leader on the adult contemporary list.) That would match the song`s performance back in 1966, when Percy Sledge`s original version spent two weeks at No. 1.

There were few fireworks elsewhere in the Top 10, with only three songs making moves of note: Bryan Adams` ''Can`t Stop This Thing We Started'' (up to No. 3 after two straight weeks at No. 5), Jesus Jones` ''Real Real Real'' (up from No. 7 to No. 4), and Boyz to Men`s ''It`s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday'' (up from No. 12 to No. 8). But there was one big mover farther down in the Top 20: P.M. Dawn`s quirky ''Set Adrift on Memory Bliss,'' which in the last two weeks has zipped from No. 34 to No. 11.